It is with sadness that I have to announce the death of Marvin the Garbage Cat. :(
When he first got here, he took every opportunity he could to hide and then bolt out the second the door opened. We have a large outdoor enclosure for the cats that they can access from a window in the house, but that wasn't enough for him, and he even managed to bust through the wire of it a few times to make his escape.
Whenever he got out, he would make his way up the road to a campground and hang out with the campers there. He had tags on, so I was called a few times to come and get him. I tried my hardest to keep him in so he wouldn't be a pest, but it isn't always easy with 3 kids going in and out all the time.
In the fall the campers would leave, and Marvin slowed down a lot during the winter. He didn't really try to go out at all. I figured his age was catching up with him as he was already quite old when I rescued him. He hung out in the kitchen almost 24/7 taking every opportunity he could to try to steal our meals off our plates, tear into packages of food we had foolishly left out, and get into the trash. He was super laid back and chilled out, and always came over to check out my garbage treasures, usually sitting and sleeping on them. This was Marvin's signature "stamp of approval".
On the weekend we had guests over, and during all the in's and out's, Marvin probably escaped. It was a beautiful sunny and warm weekend, so I didn't really blame him for wanting to go out to enjoy it. Nobody saw how or when, but at one point, we noticed there was no Marvin trying to steal our food at dinner time.
Our guests left and there was still no Marvin to be found. I was waiting for the call from the campground, but after 2 days, I still heard nothing. I had to go out to run an errand, and when I was coming back home, I saw something no pet owner wants to see. As I came down the road to the house, I saw Marvin at the side of the road. He had been hit by a car on his way back home. :(
I feel horrible and guilty about it. I can only hope it was instant and that his last few days were his best as he enjoyed lying in the grass with the warm sun coming down on him.
Rest in Peace Marvin. I'm sorry it ended for you like this. Enjoy scouring that big garbage dump in the sky.
Marvin approving of a toy garage I brought home from a garbage pile.
Hug your fur friends tight.
I'm so sorry to hear about Marvin! He sounded like an intelligent rascally rebel. I know it's little comfort right now, but at least you know what happened to him. Years ago my dog broke out of the fenced yard because he was scared of thunder and I went insane trying to locate him. I put ads in the paper and flyers everywhere (this was in the late 90s before social media). A couple people even called me to let me know they saw Bear. I can tell you I was a changed person not knowing if he was suffering, hungry, scared. A few months after Bear was lost, I started knocking on doors down the road and someone told me they did see him get hit by a car (they didn't even stop - just kept on going - may they burn in hell). They tried to help him but he was so hurt he was growling and they couldn't get near him. Bear was a Samoyed/Eskimo Spitz mix. He died a short time later. I was devastated and grieved for a very long time. But at least I finally knew what happened and it was better than wondering. I hope you find peace and have lots of good memories of Marvin. Pets steal a piece of your heart. There's never closure - you will always miss them. Time just dulls the pain a little.
ReplyDeleteThat poor darling. I feel shocked and terribly sad for you. But you gave him a great life!
ReplyDeletePoor boy - I'm sure he enjoyed having a warm comfortable home with you after you rescued him!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry. You gave him a great home. I'm sure he appreciated it.
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